✅ SOLVED Civil War lead what? 2nd one from this camp . . .

parsonwalker

Bronze Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Messages
1,491
Reaction score
2,856
Golden Thread
2
Location
Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Modified GI Mine Detector (In the 60s)
Metrotech (In the 70s)
Tesoro Tejon (Now!)
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
It's lead and I found another one just like it from this field. One I was willing to write off as a fluke. But this one is identical. SOMEBODY must know what it is! Found in short term union camp, correct patina for CW . . . It's like a tiny bowl but down inside, it has "nubs" like you might see on something used to abrade something else. remember those old inner tube repair kits? The top was rough like a cheese grater to prepare the rubber for the glue? It reminds me of that. But down inside the hole, what good could it possibly do???

It's the item on the right below -

IMG_4051.webp
 

The only thing I've seen that is very similar to your finds are the lead caps from self-sealing roofing nails. They've been manufactured ever since the 1800s (perhaps earlier) and are still for sale today. Sometimes the iron nail-head has a "textured" top (meaning, it has small bumps, or crosshatching), and sometimes it is plain. Also, sometimes the top of the lead cap is similarly textured.

The ones in the photos below are unused. When they are hammered into the roof, the lead cap gets flattened, expanding outward, creating a waterproof and rustproof seal. If the roof gets torn off, sometimes the cap gets detached from the nail-head.
 

Attachments

  • roofing-nail_lead-capped_UNUSED_cap-bottomview_TN_photobyBbheigle0605.webp
    roofing-nail_lead-capped_UNUSED_cap-bottomview_TN_photobyBbheigle0605.webp
    62.3 KB · Views: 79
  • roofing-nail_lead-capped_UNUSED_cap-topview_TN_photobyBbheigle0605.webp
    roofing-nail_lead-capped_UNUSED_cap-topview_TN_photobyBbheigle0605.webp
    66.4 KB · Views: 87
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Good golly CB! I have hammered MANY of those into my own barn roof! So funny how we see something out of context, and don't recognize it. GREAT eye! This one's SOLVED.
 

Upvote 0

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Discussions

Back
Top Bottom